Sturgeon fishery changes with announcement of delayed openingSubscriber Exclusive

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife set aside the permanent regulations on Wednesday that would have allowed the opening of sturgeon retention in the Bonneville and The Dalles Pools on Jan. 1.

The retention fishery has always opened on New Year’s Day in past years.

However, the increasing popularity of this fishery, combined with unusually good fishing conditions last year created a perfect storm that saw the catch guidelines exceeded after only one day of fishing.

Also, in 2024, the fishery, which had in years past extended for a month, only lasted two days because of the same problems.

“What happened at the hearing last week was we closed those permanent regulations with the intention of opening a fishery later this winter,” said Matt Sturza, the sturgeon and smelt biologist for WDFW’s region 5.

The growing popularity of the fishery, combined with unusually warm water for this time of year, threatened to recreate the situation that led to the early closure last year.

“Those catch guidelines are based on sustainable fishing rates and we have to take those seriously,” Sturza said. “We can’t open a fishery that we feel has a likelihood of exceeding that guideline.”

After announcing the closure, many online comments from anglers were critical of the decision. However, many others — some of whom had fished the pools for many years — applauded the change.

“I kind of like it honestly,” said Marvin Henkel of Marvin’s Guide Service. “I would like people to see what winter fishing is really like, when the water is cold, and its snowy and icy out there.”

Henkel has fished the Bonneville Pool for winter sturgeon the last 20 years, and has watched the popularity explode, combined with great fishing conditions that he said are not normal.

“The last couple years it’s been nice weather, so all these new guys coming up here still haven’t seen what winter fishing usually looks like here,” he said.

The winter weather in the Columbia River Gorge can be brutal. Freezing temperatures, heavy winds, and snowy conditions are the norm in January, but the last few years have been warm, and with little wind.

“Last year we were fishing in sweatshirts,” Henkel said.

He said in recent years he has seen boats from all over the west, and even a few from Canada. When the fishery opens in January, he said it is the only show in town. There are no other fisheries going yet, so anglers are turning to the sturgeon.

“Right now, there is no other option,” he said. “Right now, there is no salmon, no steelhead, so there is nothing for people to do fishing. Now that the word is out that there is a good fishery everybody and their mother is coming out.”

Online postings that celebrated the good fishing were also a factor in the crowding.

“It was a well-kept secret for a long time until the internet blew it out,” Henkel said. “Eight or nine years ago when we had the cold weather, you did not see that.

“To be honest, if they opened it up, I was not going to fish it. It would have been my first time not going in 20 years. It was just a blood bath. I limited out in nothing flat, but I didn’t enjoy it. With boats right on top of you and people arguing, it’s just not worth it.”

Sturza said fishing pressure was not really one of the factors managers considered about the possible change, but there are some indicators that point to that as part of the problem.

“I can’t say for sure that is going on, but one thing we looked at with this decision was last year we closed The Dalles Pool after the first day of the fishery,” Sturza said. “We reopened it in late February and we did see not just lower catch rates but we saw reduced effort at that time.”

That fishery remained within its guidelines with three days of fishing in February.

“I can’t say that is because people are fishing for something else, but that is something we noticed in The Dalles, so that is part of the story,” Sturza said.

However, environmental conditions were the main factor for the change.

“Weather and wind influence how much effort there is,” said Sturza, “but we do see water temperatures correlate fairly well with the catch rate.”

Henkel is hopeful the change will lead to more fishing days.

“They said they will reevaluate it when the weather is colder,” he said. “I think it’s going to lead to more opportunity. It sounds like later on they are going to open it for a day or two.”

He also acknowledged that the water temperature is a big factor. Last year in the warmer water, before he could even set all his lines, he had fish on. He limited the boat in one hour without moving even once. In past years he would have to move several times in order to find a good bite.

Fisheries managers will wait and see what the weather does, but if conditions improve, they do intend to open the fishery.

“We are going to keep an eye on that and recommend that fishery open later,” Sturza said. “Whether that is in late January or February I can’t say at this point. It will likely occur within that time frame.”

There has been no date set to re-examine the issue yet, but Sturza suggests that anglers stay tuned.

“I encourage people to sign up for the fishery notices and keep an eye out for those,” he said.

Henkel will also keep watching for a possible fishery in the weeks to come. And, he is hopeful the changes will improve the situation.

“I’m OK with it and I am hoping that we see some late February or early March fishing when there are salmon and steelhead around,” he said.

He believes if the pressure does drop off, the retention season could last for a few days.

Regulations

Always check the regulations before fishing any water.

Emergency changes to the fisheries can be found online at https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/regulations/rule-changes/2025